To find contractors appointed to a UK public-sector works framework, search the framework’s award notice on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder, filter Contracts Finder to Awarded contract, and read the notice’s attached documents. Search the relevant devolved portal—Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales, or eSourcing NI/eTendersNI—when the authority is in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
Use the framework award record to identify suppliers appointed to the framework. Use a later call-off award record to identify the supplier that received a particular project. Framework membership makes a supplier eligible for future work; it does not prove that the supplier won every project issued under the framework.
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Start with the distinction that determines your search
“Who was appointed to the framework?” and “Who won the construction work?” are different questions.
- A framework award identifies the supplier or suppliers appointed to a framework and the lots they won.
- A call-off award identifies a later contract awarded under that framework, often for a specific project, site or works package.
The Cabinet Office’s framework guidance quotes section 45(2) of the Procurement Act 2023 as defining a framework as a “contract between a contracting authority and one or more suppliers that provides for the future award of contracts by a contracting authority to the supplier or suppliers.” Those future contracts are commonly called call-off contracts.
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If you are tracing a project, do not stop when you find a framework supplier list. Continue looking for the call-off notice, contract award, appointment notice, project procurement page or underlying award document.
What information to collect before searching
Public procurement records are much easier to find when you start with several clues rather than a broad phrase such as “highways framework contractors”. Write down every detail you have.
Useful clues
- The contracting authority, council, department, NHS body, university or other public organisation.
- The exact or approximate framework title.
- A framework reference, tender reference, notice identifier or project code.
- The works category, such as highways, building maintenance, civil engineering, roofing or mechanical and electrical works.
- The relevant lot number or lot description.
- The approximate tender, award or project date.
- A suspected contractor or consortium member.
- The location of the work.
- Any wording copied from a tender advert, framework document, press release or authority procurement page.
Keep the original spelling, punctuation and abbreviations. A reference that looks unimportant—such as a lot code or an authority acronym—can be the most effective search term.
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1. Search Find a Tender first
Use Find a Tender for UK-wide notices, including the notice types covered by the Procurement Act regime. Search the framework title, reference and authority separately as well as together. Try an exact phrase in quotation marks, then shorter combinations if the exact search produces no result.
Search variations are worthwhile because an authority may publish the framework under a formal title while referring to it elsewhere by an internal abbreviation. Try the works category, location, lot wording and any suspected supplier name as separate searches.
2. Search Contracts Finder
Contracts Finder is the main practical route for many previous tenders and contracts. Set the stage filter to Awarded contract before reviewing results. Searching only open or recently closed opportunities can hide the award record you need.
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On the Contracts Finder search page, keyword terms can operate as OR by default. To require multiple terms, join them with a plus sign and no spaces. For example, a search combining an authority acronym and a framework term can be written in the form authority+framework. Run separate searches as well: the authority name alone, the framework title alone, the lot wording alone and a suspected supplier alone.
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Use quotation marks for an exact phrase where the interface accepts them. Exact searches are useful for a distinctive framework name; broader searches are better when the title may have been abbreviated or changed between the tender and award stages.
3. Open the notice, not just the result title
Result titles are often shortened and may not show the supplier list. Open each plausible notice and inspect:
- the contracting authority and buying organisation;
- the award date and notice publication date;
- the framework title and reference;
- the total number of suppliers, where stated;
- supplier names and company identifiers;
- lot numbers, lot descriptions and geographic coverage;
- the framework term, extensions and estimated value, where published;
- the procedure for later call-offs; and
- every linked attachment, including award reports, framework agreements, schedules and bidder or supplier lists.
A supplier list may be in an attachment rather than in the notice’s summary fields. Read the documents even when the result title appears to answer your question.
4. Search the relevant devolved portal
GOV.UK identifies devolved procurement services that sit alongside the UK-wide services. Use the portal that matches the authority’s jurisdiction:
| Portal | When to use it | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Find a Tender | UK-wide notices covered by the current central regime | Framework award notices, contract award notices and related notice documents |
| Contracts Finder | Government and agency contract information covered by the service, especially earlier and lower-value records | Awarded contract records, attachments, supplier names and lot details |
| Public Contracts Scotland | Authorities in Scotland | Framework notices, award information and call-off or mini-competition records |
| Sell2Wales | Authorities in Wales | Framework award records, supplier information and subsequent contract notices |
| eSourcing NI/eTendersNI | Authorities in Northern Ireland | Framework and contract award information published through the Northern Ireland service |
| The buyer’s procurement page | Any authority, especially when a central record is incomplete | Procurement reports, framework documents, contract registers and project-specific award notices |
Search more than one service when the authority, procurement date or legal regime is uncertain. A missing result on one portal does not establish that no framework or appointment exists.
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5. Check the authority’s own records
Look for the authority’s procurement page, contract register, committee papers, cabinet reports, transparency disclosures and project pages. Search the site for the framework reference, supplier name and lot description. An authority may publish an award report or framework agreement even when the central notice contains only limited information.
For a project-specific question, search the project name and the words “call-off”, “award”, “mini-competition”, “framework”, “contractor” and “appointment”. Some buyers describe a call-off as a work package or task order rather than using the word “call-off”.
6. Save the evidence as you go
Record the notice title, authority, notice or reference number, publication and award dates, supplier names, lot, document names and the date you accessed the record. Save copies of the underlying documents where the portal permits it. This prevents a later change to a live page from obscuring how you reached your conclusion.
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Confirm that it is an award, not an opportunity
A prior-information notice, pipeline notice, contract notice or tender advert describes an opportunity. It does not identify appointed contractors. Look for an award stage, an award notice, a framework agreement, an award decision report or a completed procurement record.
Identify the supplier list and the lot
Frameworks can be divided into lots by work type, region, value band or specialist service. A contractor may be appointed to one lot but not another. Match the supplier name to the exact lot before concluding that the contractor is available for the works you are investigating.
Where the notice lists several suppliers, treat the list as the appointed framework membership for the stated lot and term. Do not infer that each listed contractor received a project or that each can perform every category of work in the framework.
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Check the dates and legal regime
Record both the award date and publication date when they are shown. A framework that began under earlier procurement rules may continue to appear in records governed by those rules. Current guidance and portal coverage depend on the jurisdiction, contract value, procurement regime and when the procurement began.
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Framework appointment versus a project call-off
| Question | Record to find | What it establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which contractors were appointed? | Framework award notice, award report, framework agreement or supplier schedule | The suppliers accepted onto the framework, usually by lot | That any one supplier received a particular project |
| Who carried out a named project? | Call-off award, mini-competition result, task order or project contract notice | The supplier awarded that specific work, if published | That the supplier was the only member of the framework |
| How could future work be awarded? | Framework terms, lot schedule and award procedure | Whether the buyer uses direct award, a further competition or another stated process | That the procedure was followed for every later project unless the call-off record confirms it |
Framework guidance explains that a framework can have one or more suppliers and that future contracts are awarded under its terms. A buyer may run a competition among framework suppliers or make a call-off using the procedure stated in the framework documentation. The appointment record and the project award record therefore answer different evidential questions.
Troubleshooting when you cannot find the contractors
The framework title produces no results
- Search the authority name without the framework title.
- Search a distinctive phrase from the lot description rather than the full title.
- Try the reference number, with and without punctuation.
- Search the likely supplier names; a notice may be indexed under a supplier or project term.
- Use both Find a Tender and Contracts Finder, then check the relevant devolved portal.
You find a tender but no award
Open the buyer’s procurement page and look for a later award notice, framework agreement, award report or contract register entry. Check whether the procurement is still in progress, was cancelled or was awarded under a different title. Older procurements may be recorded under an earlier legal regime or portal.
You find a supplier but cannot tell whether it was appointed
Verify the supplier in the award document and identify the lot. A supplier can appear as an incumbent, subcontractor, bidder, unsuccessful tenderer or contractor on a separate call-off. A company name in a project document is not, by itself, proof of framework appointment.
The central portal shows only partial information
Follow every document link and search the authority’s own site. Contract notices frequently contain less detail than the attached award report or framework schedule. If the record remains ambiguous, contact the authority’s procurement or transparency team with the framework reference and the specific information you need.
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The procurement is old or the value is unclear
Portal coverage and thresholds are operational and can change. Contracts Finder describes its coverage in relation to stated thresholds and directs users to Find a Tender for higher-value contracts, but the applicable rule depends on the date, regime and authority. Do not treat a current threshold as a universal historical test. Verify the live service guidance and the buyer’s records.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Using open-contracting data for repeated searches
If you need to monitor many frameworks, repeated projects or a large supplier portfolio, use published open-contracting data where available. GOV.UK describes data that can be filtered, downloaded or accessed through an API. This is useful for building a repeatable search by authority, supplier, category, date or notice type.
A sensible data workflow
- Define the fields you need: authority, notice identifier, title, supplier, lot, award date, value and notice stage.
- Download the relevant published data or use the available API rather than scraping individual result pages.
- Normalise supplier names, because legal names, trading names and consortium names may differ.
- Filter for framework awards first, then search the same authority, lot and supplier fields for call-off awards.
- Open the underlying notice for every material result; a data extract is an index, not a substitute for the source document.
- Keep the retrieval date and dataset version so another person can reproduce the search.
Bulk data is an efficiency tool, not proof that a supplier performed the work. The notice and framework documents remain the evidence for appointment, lot and award status.
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A clear finding should state exactly what the record proves and where its limits are. Use a format such as:
- Authority: the contracting authority named in the notice.
- Framework: the published title and reference.
- Notice type and date: framework award or call-off award, with the publication and award dates shown.
- Lot: number, description and geographic or technical scope.
- Appointed suppliers: names exactly as recorded, including any consortium wording.
- Project supplier: only where a separate call-off or project award identifies one.
- Evidence: notice identifier and the attached documents used.
- Qualification: any uncertainty caused by missing documents, legacy rules, unclear lot scope or incomplete portal coverage.
Say “appointed to Lot 2 of the framework” when that is what the award record shows. Say “awarded the call-off for [project]” only when a later record supports it. Avoid the broader statement that a contractor “won the framework work” when the evidence establishes only framework membership.
Worked search examples
You know the council and framework name
- Search the exact framework name on Find a Tender.
- Search the council name and framework name separately on Contracts Finder.
- Filter Contracts Finder to Awarded contract.
- Open records with matching dates or work categories.
- Read the lot and supplier sections in the notice and attachments.
- Search the council’s procurement page for the framework reference and later call-offs.
You know only the suspected contractor and work type
- Search the contractor name with the work category on both central services.
- Repeat the search with the contractor name alone and inspect the buying authorities.
- Use the authority and lot wording from any plausible result to run a second, narrower search.
- Check whether the contractor is listed in a framework award or only in a project call-off.
You are tracing a Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish project
- Identify the authority’s nation and start with its devolved portal.
- Search the project and framework terms, then inspect award documents.
- Cross-check Find a Tender and Contracts Finder where the procurement date or value suggests that a central record may also exist.
- Use the authority’s own procurement and contract-register pages to resolve conflicting or incomplete entries.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Searching only active tenders: an appointed-contractor question requires an award-stage record.
- Using only one portal: jurisdiction, date and procurement regime affect where records appear.
- Reading only the headline: supplier lists and lot details are often in attachments.
- Confusing registration with appointment: registering on a procurement service does not make a supplier a framework member.
- Ignoring lots: appointment may be limited to a particular work type, region or value band.
- Equating membership with delivery: a framework supplier may never receive a call-off.
- Assuming a missing result means no award: legacy records, thresholds, portal coverage and unpublished buyer documents can all create gaps.
- Normalising company names too aggressively: retain the legal name shown in the notice and explain any trading-name difference.
What a framework appointment means for contractors
Appointment normally means the supplier can be considered for future work within the relevant lot, subject to the framework’s terms and the buyer’s call-off process. It is not a guarantee of volume, revenue or a specific project. The framework documents should explain whether future work is awarded by direct award, further competition or another permitted mechanism.
For market intelligence, compare the appointed supplier list with later call-off records rather than treating the framework list as a project pipeline. A contractor appearing in the framework award may be eligible but may not have won any call-offs. Conversely, a project award should be checked against the framework lot and term to understand the route used.
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Final checklist
- Write down the authority, framework title or reference, category, lot, date and suspected suppliers.
- Search Find a Tender using exact and shortened variations.
- Search Contracts Finder and select Awarded contract.
- Use quotation marks for distinctive phrases and
+with no spaces when you need AND-style keyword combinations on Contracts Finder. - Open notices and every relevant attachment.
- Search Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales or eSourcing NI/eTendersNI when applicable.
- Check the authority’s own procurement page and contract register.
- Separate framework appointment evidence from call-off award evidence.
- Use open-contracting downloads or an API for repeated or bulk searches.
- Record the notice identifiers, dates, lot, supplier names and any uncertainty.
The reliable answer comes from matching the right record to the right question: a framework award tells you who was appointed, while a call-off award tells you who received a particular piece of work. When one portal is silent, broaden the search across the central service, the relevant devolved portal and the buyer’s own documents before drawing a conclusion.
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